Lazzaretto di Bana

A fifteenth-century hospice at Bana was built for people affected by leprosy and later plague. Its outer wall preserves a fresco of the Madonna flanked by healing saints, a record of coastal Liguria's historical response to epidemic disease.

Why it matters

In 1450, during outbreaks of leprosy in Rapallo and Recco, the wealthy Rapallese citizen Giacomo d'Aste donated land and resources at Bana for a hospice dedicated to Saint Lazarus, the origin of the term “lazzaretto.” A papal bull of Sixtus IV in 1471 entrusted its management to the protectors of Genoa's Pammatone hospital. In 1475 the building also received plague victims from an epidemic striking Genoa and the Riviera; tradition includes d'Aste's own son among them. The fifteenth-century hospice records the region's historical response to epidemic disease.

What to notice

A fifteenth-century fresco survives on the building's east wall: the Madonna and Child flanked by healing saints. Lazarus appears in a blue habit with his clapper, the emblem of leper hospitals; James holds the Tau, and Blaise was invoked against diseases of the throat. A fifth figure has disappeared. The building's plain local stonework and its relationship to the stream and medieval road reflect its rural setting. The roof collapsed in 2007, exposing the remains of the structure's upper levels.

Context and history

The hospice's later history is one of decline. A first restoration is dated to 1505 in the city portal and 1506 in a heritage-conservation report. In 1582 the apostolic visitor Francesco Bossi, bishop of Novara, reprimanded the Pammatone administrators over the building's condition; the protectors judged repair costs excessive. The structure later served as a farmhouse. Heritage protection began in 1938 and was updated in 2006. Italia Nostra's Tigullio section added the site to its “Lista Rossa” of heritage at risk in February 2017, describing its dangerous condition and urging public acquisition for cultural use. The national catalogue lists the Ex Lazzaretto di Bana as protected architecture.